₦airaland Forum

After Area 1, Garki, roundabout.

Ikenna.

DAY 1.

After getting myself and the car ready, i took off around 6:00am.

Ikenna.

2012 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY TRIP: ABUJA - ENUGU & ANAMBRA - ABUJA, WITH MY BABY, PEUGEOT 505 V6 5 SPEED MANUAL ( 1,505 KM OR 935 MILES)


DAY 1: 27/12/2012 ( JOURNEY FROM ABUJA TO ENUGU)

I woke up at 4:20am and started preparing for the journey. I opened the bonnet and checked to be sure everything was in place. Checked the headlight & the rear lights. I packed my stuffs in the car.

Also need to mention that my favourite artiste was keeping me company, as you can see in one of the pics.


Ikenna.

[quote author=Man-of-God]Is it good & fair for a husband to teach his wife how to drive or she should go to a driving school?[/quote]I wont make that mistake, if i were you. For the sake of peace and other reasons, let her go to driving school.

Ikenna

Still available.

Ikenna.

Pk autos: Hi all compliments of the season. Please can u guys do an analysis of a Nissan Pathfinder 2001/02 model as well as a Mazda tribute in terms of fuel consumption per mileage, maintenace, availabilty of parts and mechs and love of car. Thanks.

Please, start another thread on your enquiry. Don't derail this thread.

Ikenna.

HONDA ACCORD:7TH GENERATION,AMERICAN SPECS, 2003-2007.
This Accord is a very nice car. When it comes to looks, no Asian cars beats Honda. The dashboard is so beautiful to admire. Its a very roomy car, good for tall people,i.e enough leg room for tall drivers and enough leg room at the back seats. The drivers control/switches are well laid out and simplified for easy understanding. I maynot be a Japs fan, but when it comes to the best Japs, Nissan and Honda have it, for me.

Comparing EOD with 406 will be unfair. They are not in the same league. EOD is a bigger family sized car, compared to 406. Its ideal to compare EOD with Peugeot 607, since both are in the same league, same size and similar weight. The I4 EOD engine is about 2.4L, i think. While the phase II 406 we use here comes with either 1.8 or 2.0L engines, with less hp than the 2.4L engine of the EOD.

I have driven a 2004 Accord V6 auto transmission severally. Its a very quick car, just like every other V6. Unfortunately, the very first day i drove it on one of the Abuja expressway, it was so uninspiring to drive on the highway. I couldnt tell if it was because it was auto transmission or simply because it lacked better handling i derive from mine when on highspeed on such roads. Not saying its a bad car, but i didnt find it interesting to do long distance driving or highspeed with.

EOD has its pros and cons. Some of the owners have complained of transmission frequent failures. I dont own one, so i dont know how true that is. But as for the front swivel/ball joint, they can be an embarrassment to the owners. Every now and then, you see them pulling off on the roads, no matter how clean they are. Aside these two cons, i dont know of anyother. But i do know they handle a lot better than most Toyotas that i have driven, but not more than the Nissans in the same league. Parts are available in some parts of the country, but i dont know how cheap they are. But the facts remains that its a good looking car that turns head on the road.



PEUGEOT 406 PHASE II: 1999-2004 (D9).
The D9 is a nice car too; a good looking smart car. One of the last Pininfarina designed car Peugeot ever had. Its one of the modern Peugeots that was close to the ruggedity of the 504 & 505. The car has one the things Peugeots are known for: outstanding Dampers/shock absorbers. The car security system is one of the best so far in the world. Its a car you have confidence to park and come back and meet. To steal the car with another key, you will have to change the ignition switch, BSI unit and the engine ECU, before the car will start without the owners key.

It has a good road handling Peugeot is known for. I have driven a lot of naturally aspirated I4 406 phase II, but yet to drive a V6 one. The 2.0L D9 produces average power, good enough for one who is mindful of fuel economy to enjoy. Unfortunately, i found it uninteresting to pull on the highway, even though the road handling is very good. I hate it when i have to depress the throttle so hard to gain speed, unlike my V6s that a small flex of throtlle pedals shoot the cars. They are not quick enough to impress me, though i wasnt expecting them to. Sometimes i wonder if i will ever go back to I4 again!

The fuel consumption is very impressive. Last month, someone drove a 2.0L engine (EW10) D9 from Lagos to my very house in Abuja on just one single full fuel Tank. By the time it got to my house, it was almost entering the reserve. The full tank is 70 litres. Go figure. But am not sure the I4 EOD can be that economical, considering the engine size, body size and weight.

406 phase II has its pros and cons as well. One of the cons is the electrics, so is everyother Euro cars. Euro cars have complex electrics, while Japs have simple electrics. What it means is that EOD can take electrical abuse from our auto electricians and still run, but the D9 wont. Other issues are brake disc warps. The 406 brake discs wear faster than the older discs in 504s & 505s. Their parts are very much available in every part of the country, unlike the EOD. The turning radius is sharper than the EOD; its smarter, to me.

Every car has pros and annoyances. Its left for you to find out which of the two has what you want out of a car and which of them you can live with the annoyances.



@ EVERYONE:
I really dont know why Agboolamotors is been attacked. Nigerians have a way of saying how good something is by using the words "100% or perfect". We use it to explain to someone that the thing in question is good enough to be recommended to whoever that is interested. The word perfect exist, but nothing is perfect, so its 100%, but they exist in our dictionaries. Though you can argue that one can score 100% in objective exam results.


Ikenna.

BluStreak: Wow! I checked my car & what I saw sent shock waves all over my system. Ignorance has led many to their early grave due to tyre bursts.

My findings:
2007 Honda Accord
All 4 tires are 215/50
Recommended tyre pressure
Front Tyres - 32psi
Back Tyres - 29psi

But in Nigeria, once you pull over at a vulcanizer and requests for a tyre gauge, you will get 45 - 50psi inflations for all your tyres. No wonder the bible said my people perish for lack of knowledge. We should all take this matter seriously as this has been a major cause of most fatal accidents on our highways.

I came back from a trip yesterday. You need to see a lot of cars that ended up in the bush along Abuja-Enugu highway. Its not always about the state of our highways, but our own mistakes, ignorance or carelesness. You will see a city car doing about 160 km/h or more, expecting miracle to happen if it has a blow out, as if the car was design to take such speeds. Anyway, thats a story for another thread.

Ideal thing is for one to have his or her own tyre pressure guage. So that, you can always return it to the factory psi yourself, after each time you add air to the tyres via the vulcanisers. Its what i do. The pressure guage dosent cost. 1k or 2k can get you a good one.

But do know that if you want your fuel economy to improve slighly, you can add a little psi over the factory. If the instruction is to leave the tyres at 32 psi, you can leave it at 33 or 34 psi, and the fuel economy will improve. Unfortunately, if you do that, it will cost you something else. The brake will suffer. That is the stopping distance will increase and the brake wont be as sharp as it used to. So you gain some, you lose some. But its ideal to leave it at the factory psi, which is safe. I would prefer my brake to be sharper than become a miser because i want to save fuel.

Ikenna.

we we: It was a conversion from RHD to LHD. How reliable is a converted 406? I was made to understand that most 406 imported from Europe were converted from RHD to LHD except very few ones.
By the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year too!

RHD - LHD converts in Nigeria are from UK. And UK is not the only European nations that had 406. Difference is that 406 in UK is cheaper than the LHD conterparts in other European countries, and Nigerians are so much in love with cheap things.

Personally, i would stay away from RHD car, no matter how cheap it is. During the conversion, a lot of wires and electric switches will have to be moved. Even the AC components will be transfered to the other side of the car. Most of the RHD converts have ended up having constant AC gas leak issues. No matter how good the person doing the conversion is, the car will never be like factory LHD. Some switches will be at the wrong side of the car. The thing is, you wont enjoy the car. I dont care even if the conversion was done outside Nigeria, ain't buying one.

I cant stop you from buying what you like. For i could be wrong or right about my reasons for disliking RHD convert. Its not make my call to make. But be ready to live with whatever decision or choice you make in live. Because "I told you so" doesn't make the problem go away.

Ikenna.

we we: @Ikenna
I was about to buy 1999 406 V6 engine but after test driving the car i was discouraged cos I thing the car has some issues
1. It doesnt move at all, jerks and misfires. The dealer said it is a nozzle issue that he will fix it as soon as he is sure of my commiment.
2. The car was converted
kindle advise on what to do cos i love this baby
thanks

I arrived Abuja, my house, 3 hrs ago, which i left Enugu this morning. So i just logged in and saw your post.

A converted V6? Run for your dear life! Don't even look back while you are on it.

Swapping in EW10 into engine bay of XU10 may not be a big deal. But swapping in ES9J45 in an I4 D9 is a big time big deal. It wont be a simple drop. A lot of modifications will have to be done. Only a person who knows what he is doing can achieve a succesful conversion.

A friend of mine in Australia swapped in ES9J4S in his 406 coupe V6 (D8), which originally had ES9J4 in the engine bay. After reading what he went through to complete the task, it was obvious that such task isn't meant for the road side mechanics. Note that both vehicle originally had a V6, before swapping in another V6, but it still a hard task. Not to think of I4 to V6. Unless you meant RHd to LHD, and not I4 to V6.

The most impotant part of EFI engine conversion is the engine harness swap. How good is the auto electrician that will do the harness swap and modifications in understading wiring diagram of that engine to be swapped in? I studied my wiring diagram and understood the functions of each wires in the engine bay, and where they are coming from and going to. If i would do such conversion, i will do the engine harness swap myself. But since you are not the one that did the electrical part of the conversion, how are you sure they even used the wiring diagram in the conversion?

The issue with the car which the dealer claimed was injectors issues could be a serious wrong harness/wiring connections done during the conversion.

If you want a D9 V6, get a factory/standard D9 V6. Its what I would do.

Ikenna.

Rudebwoy: @ Ikenna, what do u think of a 1998 V6 406, auto tranny? Is it durable?

The engine in the picture you posted is not ES9J4 in '98 or phase I 406. The engine in the picture is ES9J4S, a V6 engine in D9.

The V6 engine in '98 406 was also installed in '98 605 V6. The maximum hp is 190.

I will tell you more about the ES9J4 tomorrow. Am tired now, after driving from Abuja to Enugu today, and now in Anambra.

Will get back to you.

Ikenna.

aieromon: @OP

1. How do you rate the fuel consumption especially when stuck in stupid traffic at the Abuja-Lokoja end? I have the impression that this is where the i4 engines best the v6 engines.

2. How do you rate the fuel efficiency of the 505 and 605 on the same distance of road to Onitsha?

3. Were the burnt wires as a result of their substandard quality or as a result of the excessive heat encountered in the traffic?

I'm kinda apprehensive of driving a v6 engine from Lagos to Benin.

1. Of course, I4 will always consume less fuel than V6, when driven in the city or stuck in a traffic jam for hours. But traffic jam kills fuel economy of all cars, no matter the number of cylinders, even if its 3 cylinder engine.

2. My 605 V6 is more feul efficient than the 505 V6. In highways, my 605 V6 average 29-32 mpg, while my 505 V6 average 21-24 mpg. Both are the same engine, similar but not identical. The engines in both of them is known as PRV (Peugeot, Renault & Volvo). The PRV engines were co-produced by those 3 companies in Douvrin, France. All PRV engines were V6. The ZN3J (PRV engine in my 505) and ZPJ (PRV in my 605) all have 170 hp as maximum. And both are short stroke engines, meaning, they produce very high engine torques at low rpm. So you need not to rev the car to gain high speed. The ZPJ cylinder heads were improved on or more refined to consume less fuel, less noisy, but lack the aggressive noisy impressive engine note which the ZN3J (505 V6 engine) posses. I will always choose the engine note of the ZN3J over the ZPJ because of the unique V6 songs it produces when the car is on highspeed.

3. The burnt wires were because of the poor quality. The quality was so bad that it couldnt stand the high volts that was passing through the wires to the fans. So the long hours i spent on the traffic along Abuja-Lokoja highway now fasttracked it death. Even Nigerian wires in the market are no longer Nigerian wires. They are mostly fake. Finding a Nigerian wire in our market, which is the best wire so far, is like applying for US visa. These days, i prefer the used wires to the new ones in our markets, which even cost more.

Ikenna.

lwise: Thanx all,
I did the servicing some hours ago,I use mobile 1(N7800) and mobil ATF(N900 each).I also reset the maintenance required light,all is well with the car now.

Mobile 1 is not oil grade. Its a brand name or trademark. Next time, work with the oil grade. My point is, pay more attention to the oil grade stamped on the oil container, to be sure you are buying what the car manufacturer instructed for the car.

And also read the label well. For example, we have 10W 40 synthetic oil and also 10W 40 mineral oil. We also have 15W 50 synthetic based and 15W 50 for 4X4.


Its just an advice, though.

Ikenna

yungboss: it will also be good in 'travel'...

Its about the places my car made to, roads driven on the trip, not about places i have been to or travelled to, hence the topic. Thats why the car appeared on almost all the pictures.

So, its a car talk thing.

Ikenna.

A/C doesnt directly place all the load on the engine/crankshaft pulley. Switching on A/C, whether stationally or in motion, places load on the Alternator which creates drag on the Alternator. Its the drag the Alternator creates that you noticed when the AC is switched on, which will make the engine to bump. Because of the drag from the Alternator, the engine will try harder to drive the dragging Alternator, thereby making the ECU or carburretor to pump more fuel to maintain the normal engine rpm, hence the thirsty running.

But when you are doing about 100km/h or so, the power the engine develops at that point is enough drive the Alternator effortlessly, depending on how sound the engine is or how good the engine managenent is. That is to say, it will consume less than leaving you windows open at such speed.

Its the Alternator that powers the engine once its running, not the battery, hence, the cut out function. Thats why battery can be disconnected while engine is running and still will be running. It will only draw power from the battery if your Alternator is faulty, failing or a broken engine Auxilliary/Alternator belt.

Even headlight, car stereo, leaving unnecessary electronics on while engine is running makes the Alternator to increase drag and makes the engine to consume extra unnecessary fuel. If your Alternator is faulty or not designed to carry capacity of a particular Compressor, your battery will always be running down or will even kill the battery sooner than you expect.

Ikenna

@ antitank,

Actually, the part of that highway i have problem with, since I drive on it often, is the Abuja-Lokoja highway. Anyone that is not that good behind the wheel may find himself/herself in the bush, on that particular road. Especially, the way some vehicles behave on that road usually make me fear for the worst. There are some cars i dont like spending more than 2 mins behind them. Once i reach them, i just overtake and spare myself the horrible sight.i.e. behaving as if they were about to swerve into the bush, whenever the drivers steered them away from potholes on top speed. Some cars simply lack the stability to handle such steer. For if you want to know how good a car is on high speed, tail the car on highway and check how it behaves while steering away from objects or potholes on highspeed. But to some, "Car na Car". Of course, God protects and saves, but shouldnt be taken for granted. Igbos will say "Onye Chukwu n' azo, n' azo onwe ya!".


But inspite of our bad roads, what can a son of man does? Lol!

Hey anitank! Cheer up! It is well.

Ikenna

For those who are so much interested in that shoe i was wearing. It was actually a gift from my kid sister in Uk, Coventry to be precised. So, happy now?

Ikenna.

[quote author=holly-pagan]Na wao hunger dey dis guy for body see as him stomach flat with his chop stick shoe wey dey shine like mirrow poster i hall u[/quote]Every night and morning, i look up and thank my God for making and keeping me the way i look. A lot of people are doing everything in their power to have a flat stomach like mine. I love my body stature, more than you can imagine.

Ikenna.

[quote author=fried-rice]Brother, you need to learn from spyder90 a fellow nairalander
what photo journalism is about. You spent the whole day traveling from Abuja to Enugu
and you have only 4 very uninteresting pictures to show for it. who's interested in seeing your 1993 Peugeot 605?[/quote]Let me make it easy for you. Its 1990 605 V6, not even 1993.

In fact, let me make it easier for you. I love my main car, my BABY, my 1987 Peugeot 505 V6, more than the 1990 605 V6. Happy now? Do you think i bought those two old Lions to impress you? Since when do you determine my happiness or my needs for me?

Ikenna.

Hmm!

Am not surprised what we have degenerated to, after reading some of the post here. I do know my intelligence wasnt that low when i was growing up.

I dont pity those people that made hate comments here, simply because they cant decipher what this thread is all about. My pity goes to people you share the same blood with, that calls you brother, sister, daughter or son. Those are the ones i pity, not you. Because a mad man doesnt know he is mad.

Ikenna.

So, there you have it!

Now, I have another trip to East to do next week, for the Xmas holiday. But then, am yet to choose which car to use for the trip. Am in love with two women but dont know which one to choose! Lol!

But am strongly thinking doing it with my BABY!, the Peugeot 505 V6. I love its character when in action on highway.

@ t-die,
Yes, am travelling to East for this Xmas holiday. Will document the trip with pictures as well.

Ikenna.

DAY 4

AT last, back from where it started, my house in Abuja, as you can see in the attached pic the 605 V6 packed beside my BABY, 505 V6.

I arrived my house almost at 1pm sharp, on one full tank from Enugu. This time, there was no traffic jam met. It was a smooth drive. V6s can be so sweet to do long journeys with. Trust me!

Ikenna.

DAY 4

Attached Picture was taken after Abaji, along the Abuja-Lokoja highway.

Before me in the picture was a VW Golf 3 station wagon and a commercial Bus.

Ikenna.

DAY 4


I arrived Lokoja around 11:30am. Didnt bother to stop, still on the full tank from Enugu. Since i have all the edibles i needed to keep the body and soul together on the journey in the car, on the passengers seat, i fired on.

My V6 was just moving smoothly. A joy to travel with it.

Attached Picture was taken while driving on Bridge after Lokoja. The same bridge Flood covered few months ago, which stopped my planned trip to East with my 505 V6 in September, 2012.

Ikenna.

DAY 4 (JOURNEY BACK TO ABUJA)


Well, I woke up early the next day, Easter Monday, prepared and started heading to Abuja, at 6:15am

About 3 hours into the journey, i took a pic while driving (Pic attached). It was in Kogi state, before Lokoja.

Ikenna.

DAY 3

So I got to Enugu town around 5:30pm or so and drove straigth to NNPC Mega station (@ entrance of Enugu-Porth-Harcout expressway) and refilled my fuel tank, against my Journey back to Abuja the next day from Enugu.

Pic taken while at NNPC mega station attached

Ikenna.

DAY 3 (Still on my way to Enugu town on Enugu-Onitsha Expressway)


After Amansea Junction, i spotted a broken down vehicle, with an aged/old woman standing helplessly with the supposed driver of the vehicle, close to a police check point. He waved me down.Well, it was around check point, so it was safe to stop. Besides, i cant leave that elderly woman, old enough to be my grandma, helplessly there, since night was fast closing on them. Time for Charity!

I asked the man what was the issue with the car. He said he didnt know. All he knew was that the vehicle just stopped moving, even though the engine was still running. Well, I entered the faulty car (Nissan Bluebird, manual trans). I started the car and the engine was running fine. But when i tried to move, there was the culprit: Slippery clutch. I asked the man how come he drove the car with a failing clutch plate on a highway/for a long journey, knowing fully well it must have been given him signs for ages before that day? He said he just bought the car few days before that day and that he didnt know much about cars and signs of failing components. Well, "the way out?", he asked. I simply told him the car couldnt be fixed that day, at that hour, since the engine will have to be separated from the transmission to replace the failed clutch plate, if not pulled off the engine. So, he asked that i drop off his mother and his son at Umuoba Ndiuno Juction, along that expressway road, since i was travelling to Enugu. Of course, i happily let the old woman and his grandson in my car. He said he would find people to help push the car to a nearby fuel station, and would take a public transport. He offerd me money for helping and of course, i refused to touch it. After all, the story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible is not only meant for the Samaritans. Lol!

Well, they transfered all their luggage to my car boot and I drove off with the grandma and his grandson. Got to their location, stopped and they got out. Though it took sometime for the woman to gradually climb out, with help from the grandson, which you can see in the attached pic, which i took where i dropped them and their luggage in the boot. So, i continued on my journey to Enugu town.

While i was driving, after dropping them off, i then realised the reason why i had that radiator fan issue. God used that issue to delay me before i could get to that spot where i met them. If i havenot had that fans issue, i would have driven past that spot before there vehcile got spoilt. He delayed me to help people in need. Sometimes, when we experience vehicle breakdown on journeys, we just start blaming God, without knowning why He let such disappointments befall us.

Ikenna.

DAY 3

Later in the evening of the Easter Sunday, I drove off to Enugu again via Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

I got to Aroma Junction Awka and met a small traffic Jam (Easter celebrations, i guess). While at the traffic, I noticed that my temperature guage was reading beyond the normal engine operating temperature. By the time i got to Government House Awka, along that Expressway, the overheating warning sign was already showing. So, I stopped at Ikenga Junction, still on that Expressway . I left the engine running, came out of the car, opened the hood, checked what could be the issue. There! The 2 radiator fans were not spinning, which was why it started to overheat while i was at the traffic jam. So i then switched off the engine. Then it strucked me! Few months before i embacked on that trip, i worked on the abused radiator fan harness. The previous owner had the fan spinning constantly as soon as the ignition would be switched on. So I reverted it to factory. But I had to buy some new flexible wires to do the job. The quality of wires in our market is nothing to write home about. So i quickly checked those wires and there was the culprit: the fake wire! The wires were burnt. Hmm! Luckly, i have some spare flex wires with me in the car. I quickly changed the fake burnt wires, and started the car again and allowed it to idle to get to 90 degree C, since the engine has cooled off a little while changing the burnt wires. As soon as the temp guage hit 90-93 degree C, the fan started spinning again. Phew! The work didnt take upto 20 mins to diagnose and get fixed.

Pic of the car at the expressway attached, after the fans issue were sorted out.

Ikenna.

DAY 3 : Easter SUNDAY (08/04/2012)


Well, time for the spiritual! So, I attended 9.am Mass at my hometown, St. Raphael Catholic Church, Awkuzu. I don't joke with my faith o!

Pics of me and my Lion, taken after the Mass, attached.

Ikenna.

DAY 2 (07/04/2012)

I drove off to Enugu town again, to inspect our Area of Land there. Just to be sure the land is still intack. Lol! (Pics at the land attached).

After the inspection of the land, i drove to Shoprite at GRA and fed my eyes. Went to other places and drove back to Anambra in the evening that day.

Ikenna.